A La Jolla man arrested for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of a graduate student has pleaded guilty to the charges and faces up to 15 years in state prison.

Christopher Boyd Stockmeyer III, 41, will be sentenced

June 20 in Vista Superior Court.

Rachel Morrison, 27, was killed March 28 in Del Mar.

Stockmeyer, an engineer, is the registered owner of the vehicle that struck Morrison around

10:15 p.m. and left the scene. Stockmeyer’s vehicle was damaged.

Morrison, who was about to receive a PhD in marine biology from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, was walking in a crosswalk with an acquaintance at Camino Del Mar and Coast Boulevard. The acquaintance was not hurt.

The guilty plea includes a hit-and-run allegation, said Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe. Stockmeyer faces 9 to 15 years in prison.

“We were told that the defendant wanted to plead guilty and acknowledge his guilt and go ahead and get this case to a final resolution,” said the prosecutor.